Page 21 of Bound to a Scot
He shook his head. “Nae really. I may be the war leader, but yer husband tends tae keep his own counsel. I’m just expected tae follow orders and lead the fighters intae battle.”
She looked at him evenly. “But?”
“But lately, I’ve been seein’ men comin’ and goin’ from the castle I dinnae ken. Hard looking men,” he said.
“And what are they doin’, then?”
“Meetin’ with Burchard, is all I ken. They come, talk tae him, then go.”
Emmeline wrung her hands together as she processed what Lorn had just told her. As little as Lorn knew about her husband’s doings, she knew even less. But the idea of strange, hard men coming and going from Castle Macfie did not sound good. Not at all.
“What dae ye think is happenin’?” she asked. “What is he up tae?”
“I couldnae say. But the men I’ve been seein’ make me think he’s definitely up tae somethin’,” Lorn said. “They’re fightin’ men, if I’ve ever seen one.”
Emmeline had no idea what her husband was getting up to or what part Maddox had to play in whatever it was, but it worried her. The last thing she wanted was Cecilia to be put into a position where she could be hurt. Or worse.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
It had been a couple of days since Maddox had seen Emmeline and he was getting the feeling that she was taking pains to avoid him. She did not take her meals with them and whenever he saw her walking through the corridors of the castle, she turned and walked the other way. It was frustrating. And the more time they spent apart, the more Maddox wanted to see her.
He and Macfie continued to negotiate their alliance. Maddox had resigned himself to the fact that he was going to have to marry Cecilia. There seemed to be no way out of it. Knowing this, he had begun to spend a little more time with her both, to get to know her better and to reassure her there was nothing she had to fear from him. To make her understand she would be well taken care of and never forced to do that which she did not consent to.
Maddox was surprised by Cecilia. She was a very lovely girl. It seemed many people took her to be meek and passive—a perception she did nothing to alter. It was a clever ploy that made them underestimate her. Though quiet, Cecilia wasintelligent, fiercely independent, with a quick wit and sharp tongue. In the short time he’d been getting to know her, Maddox had become quite fond of her. Just not in the marital way.
His mind in turmoil, Maddox walked through the garden grounds behind the castle. He was going to have to learn to alter his own thinking when it came to Cecilia. She was to be his wife, and he knew he had to begin seeing her as such, rather than as the little sister she felt like to him. As he walked among the tall, lush, flowering bushes all around him, Maddox closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to let the sweet fragrance in the air calm him.
The sound of a babbling stream up ahead drew him forward. When he came around a bush, he pulled up short, his mouth growing dry and his heart skipping a beat. Emmeline sat on a large, flat stone beside the stream staring down into the water rushing by. As if she sensed his presence, she raised her head and when their eyes met, Maddox felt as if a bolt of lightning had shot straight down from the heavens and pierced his heart.
As he walked toward her, Emmeline tensed up and looked distinctly uncomfortable. She looked as if she was going to stand and run away. Not wanting to send her fleeing from him, Maddox stopped walking and sighed heavily.
“Are ye just goin’ tae pretend I dinnae exist then?” he asked.
She frowned. “I’m nae pretendin’ ye dinnae exist.”
“Nay? Ye stare through me like I’m a bleedin’ ghost. Ye willnae talk tae me?—”
“Because I cannae. ‘Tis nae appropriate.”
“What are ye talkin’ about? What’s inappropriate?—”
“Ye’re tae wed me stepdaughter,” she cut him off. “And I’m a married woman.”
Maddox frowned. “Nae a happily married woman.”
“’Tis nae fer ye tae say. ‘Tis inappropriate fer ye tae make such insinuations.”
“I’m nae insinuatin’ anything, Emmeline. I can see it in yer eyes.”
She turned away, as if not looking at him would keep Maddox from seeing the depth of her unhappiness. Emmeline took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“’Tis nae fer ye tae say. ‘Tis nae app?—”
“’Tis nae appropriate,” he cut her off. “Aye. Ye’ve said that already.”
“And yet, ye keep tryin’ tae force me tae talk tae ye anyway.”
Maddox sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m nae tryin’ tae force ye tae dae anythin’. But if I’m tae marry Cecilia, we’re goin’ tae be family. Families talk. ‘Tis nae inappropriate fer family tae talk tae each other.”
